COVID 19 Safety Plan Instructions – Long Term Care

This planning tool has been designed to guide Long Term Care organizations through WorkSafeBC’s six-step process to reduce the risk of COVID-19 in Long Term Care.  Briefly, these steps are:

This plan is a template and is designed to be modified based on the needs of your organization. 

Green text throughout the document can be replaced with your organization’s information. 

The checklists in each section are fillable – if the item listed is applicable to your workplace, you can click on the box and a checkmark will appear.  If the item as written is not applicable, you may re-word it to meet the needs of your workplace or delete it.

There are boxes to add additional information at the end of each section.  If there is no additional information to be added, the box can be deleted.

Process:

Assemble a team including leadership and worker representatives from the Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee (JOHSC).  For sites that do not have a JOHSC, a worker safety representative must be involved in the process of developing your COVID-19 Safety Plan.

You may wish to perform an inspection of the care home as a part of developing your COVID-19 Safety Plan.  SafeCare BC has developed a COVID-19 Safety Inspection Tool that can guide you through the development of your COVID-19 Safety Plan.

Once completed, forward a copy of the Safety Inspection Checklist to your Joint Occupational Health and Safety Committee, and keep a copy on file.

A copy of the COVID-19 Safety Plan and other associated documentation must be provided if requested by a WorkSafeBC officer, and posted in the workplace if required by order of the Provincial Health Officer.

 

This COVID-19 Safety Plan should be regularly reviewed and updated as work processes change or new orders from the Provincial Health Officer (PHO) or Medical Health Officer (MHO) are implemented.

 

COVID 19 Safety Plan

Organization NameRetirement Concepts – Peace Portal Seniors Village
Address15441 16 Ave Surrey, BC V4A 8T8
Date of Creation
Date of Revision(s)March 2022

Orders from the Provincial Health Officer (PHO) or a Medical Health Officer (MHO) take precedence over this policy.

All employers in British Columbia have an obligation under the Workers Compensation Act to ensure the health and safety of workers and others at their workplace and to implement polices and procedures to protect workers from the risk of exposure to COVID-19.

At West Coast Seniors Housing Management we have developed a COVID-19 Safety Plan (Safety Plan)  mandated by the order of the Provincial Health Officer. This plan outlines the policies, guidelines, and procedures put in place to eliminate, and where elimination is not possible, to reduce, the risk of COVID-19 exposure to West Coast Seniors Housing Management workers, contractors, volunteers, residents, and visitors.

This Safety Plan addresses current operating status of Retirement Concepts.  – Peace Portal Seniors Village.  As services are gradually increased within the care home, this plan will be updated.

As a part of assessing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace, the following groups and information sources were consulted:

The following documentation was used to assist in developing West Coast Seniors Housing Management COVID-19 Safety Plan:

This plan applies to all workers, including management, supervisors, front line workers, volunteers, and visitors to West Coast Seniors Housing Management

 

Current Control Measures in place at Retirement Concepts – Peace Portal Seniors Village

Workers (including Contractors & Volunteers)

 

Additional Information:

1)     All staff, visitors and contractors are to be double vaccinated

2)     Staff who have signs and symptoms are encouraged to rapid test and to stay home

3)     For staff who become ill with symptoms are referred to go for a PCR test

4)     Physical distancing measures (2m) are in place

5)     For high traffic areas, we have signs on the ground enforcing 2-meter distancing

6)     Common areas where staff /resident’s sit have been adjusted to accommodate physical distancing. I.e every char is strategically positioned 2 meters apart

7)     We have staff that screen people trying to enter the building

8)     Physicians will limit in-person visits to essential visits

9)     Pharmacists will limit in-person visits to essential visits

10)  Managers will stagger their schedules when possible

11)  Occupancy limits for workers:  We have set-up a second staff room to limit the number of employees in any given room at one time.

12)  Set-up virtual visitation for family members

 

Visitors

 

Additional Information:

 

Residents

 

Additional Information:

 

Hand Hygiene

 

Additional Information:

1)        Staff and visitors are directed to perform proper hand hygiene prior to entering the building using hand sanitizer. Hand sanitizing dispensers are located throughout the building; outside residents’ rooms, common areas, bathrooms and entrance ways to kitchen and building.

2)        Sinks are located in residents’ bathrooms and throughout the building

 

Respiratory Hygiene

 

Additional Information:

1)        PPE education is completed on a regular basis to support staff understanding of the importance of wearing masks

 

Workplace Arrangements

 

  • Organization Entrance

One door for entry, one door for exit.

  • Organization Lobby

Consider spacing seating arrangements or removing seating.

Barriers around reception desk if physical distancing can not be maintained.

  • Worker Lunchroom/break room Consider arrangement of furniture, staggered breaks.

staff rooms

one per floor, furniture staggered

 

  • Worker shared spaces Consider arrangement of furniture, staggered breaks.

Occupancy limit: 2

RN Office per floor

Shared space

  • Administrative areas Arrangement of workstations/furniture
  • Hallways/Corridors

 

  • Elevators

Occupancy limit: 2

  • Staff Washrooms

Occupancy limit: 1

  • Training Rooms

Consider arrangement of furniture.

 

  • Board Room

Consider arrangement of furniture.

Occupancy Limit: 8

☐ [Other]☐ [Other]

 

ü Virtual meeting tools and/or phone calls in lieu of in-person meetings or training sessions are held when possible.  All required control measures, such as physical distancing, must be in place if communication or training takes place in person.

ü Workers will maintain physical distancing measures when entering/exiting the workplace, while travelling through corridors and accessing common areas.

ü Work tasks have been postponed, re-arranged, or planned in such a way that workers are not required to work in proximity to one another.

ü Where 2 meters cannot be maintained between workers, the work task is planned and instructions to workers are provided to ensure that time spent in close proximity is minimized.

ü Wherever possible, work processes within the organization are re-organized to designate teams of workers to specific units or cohorts of residents. If dedicated teams or workers for areas housing residents who are ill are not an option, workers must first work with asymptomatic residents before moving on to work with residents who are on droplet and contact precautions.

ü Building ventilation systems are properly maintained.

 

Additional Information:

 

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

 

Additional Information:

1)     Signs are posted outside resident rooms indicating when staff are required to use PPE when entering the room.

2)     PPE can be found in storage towers that are placed outside resident rooms when droplet and contact precautions are required

3)     Additional supplies are kept in PPE supply room enough to support 1 week of usage

 

Cleaning and Disinfection

 

Additional Information:

1)        Laundry – infectious items are placed in a clear bag and labelled with what infections issue.

2)        Laundry staff who deal with infectious items are advised to wear appropriate PPE (Mask, gown, gloves)

3)        Designated laundry sorting is coloured coded – with red and yellow bins used for laundry items

 

Environmental Cleaning

 

Additional Information:

Provide information about your cleaning plan. Specify who is responsible for cleaning, the cleaning schedule, and what the cleaning protocols will include (e.g., which surfaces, tools, equipment, and machines).

 

1)     Enhanced cleaning plan is outlined in the Exposure Control Plan

2)     All staff have a role in enhanced cleaning. 3 designated housekeeping staff disinfect high-touch areas including:

a.      Hand rails in stairwells

b.      Door handles

c.      Door lock keypads

d.      Nursing Station surfaces (once per day)

e.      Hallway seating

f.       Hand rails in hallways

g.      Elevator buttons

h.      Buttons and handles on equipment and machines

i.        Magnetic lock release buttons (one in building is cleaned by laundry staff)

j.        Staff room

k.      Bathrooms

3)     The staff in charge of disinfecting these high-touch areas will be cleaning these surfaces at least twice per day

4)     Nursing and Health Care Assistants will clean Nursing Station surfaces twice daily

5)     Proper hand hygiene technique education has been provided to all staff. Staff have also been instructed, during their care for residents and before / after meals, to provide hand sanitizer to the residents

6)     Recreation department will have a formal cleaning schedule of rec area, equipment and office to ensure cleaning is done as efficiently as possible

7)     Dietary Staff with clean:

a.      Dining room tables

b.      Chair armrests and back of chairs in neighbourhood dining rooms

8)     Screeners will be responsible for cleaning high touch areas in the entrance, as well as chair armrests/back of chairs, and tables in the visiting/waiting areas

9)     Kitchen staff will be responsible for ensuring all work areas are maintained in the most hygienic way possible using food safe cleaning products.  Ultra shams will be cleaned with soap and water, then sink and surface sanitizer prior to being brought back in to the kitchen.  To decrease risk of COVID transmission cooks will work on one side of the kitchen and dietary on the other (if this is required then the cooks will be responsible for putting clean dishes away). Staff are required to wear PPE.  Social distance when they can.  The dietary working on units that have been cohorted due to issues stay on the units and do not enter the kitchen. Sanitize immediately after use or every 2 hours with 200ppm chlorine solution. Hand sanitizing dispensers are located outside the kitchen area.

 

Expansion of Services

 

Retirement Concepts – Peace Portal Seniors Village has reviewed our existing risk assessments for the jobs and areas affected in the workplace.  We have considered the effects of control measures discussed in this COVID-19 Safety Plan on existing safeguards and controls and revised our risk assessments and other documentation accordingly.

 

Additional Information:  If workers require greater specificity/clarity in their work they can reach out to their manager or lead to discuss concerns.  If it is after hours or on weekends and no managers are working, then staff can call the charge nurse and if needed the charge nurse will call the manager on call.

Saturday  –  Recreation Manager is on site for workers to report hazards to

Sunday – phone list situated at each phone outlines manager and supervisor contact numbers for workers

currently the SSM and Lead cook alternate working these days, and other management will be scheduled as needed for weekend shifts.

 

 

A copy of Retirement Concepts – Peace Portal Seniors Village COVID-19 Safety Plan has been posted  on the company website, OHS safety board for workers and family room for residents and families as required by the order of the Provincial Health Officer.